Russellville Junior High School's Westside Whirlwinds finally got to play on their home turf. But after the heartbreak they suffered there Thursday night, they may be happy to head back out on the road next week.

After trailing the entire game, RJHS West (2-1) came up one yard short on a 2-point conversion attempt with less than two minutes to go in the game and fell 14-12 to the Little Rock Catholic Rockets at Cyclone Stadium.

"You want a chance, and we had a chance," Whirlwinds head coach Josh Edgin said after the game. "The reaction (on the sideline) wasn't bad because we knew, 'Okay, now we just have to strip the ball.' We still knew we had a chance after that. Yeah, it's always a little heartbreaking when you don't tie it up right there and get that taken care of, but the kids didn't lose focus either. They were still intense and they knew they still had a chance. They battled and tried to rip the ball out, we just couldn't get it out of there."

Things got moving quickly as Matthew Pence took the opening kickoff 84 yards for a Little Rock Catholic touchdown, and Andrew Hugen's point-after kick gave the Rockets a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

RJHS West would not go down without a fight. Two plays later, facing third and 13 at its 23, Whirlwind quarterback Colby Sims found Trevor McDaniel between three defenders. The receiver outran the defense for a 77-yard touchdown, but Miguel Nava's PAT sailed left, and RJHS West trailed only 7-6.

Both teams threatened to score in the second quarter, but both teams suffered turnovers. Tristan McDaniel led the Whirlwind offense to the Catholic 21, but couldn't convert a fourth-and-9 play.

Later in the quarter, the Rockets faced a second-and-6 at their 13 when Seth McCammon broke loose for a 62-yard run. But Trevor McDaniel tracked him down from behind, stripped the ball and fell on it at the RJHS 13.

"Unbelievable effort by Trevor," Edgin said. "I don't know how he (was walking after the game); he was running all over the field. He gave continuous effort and battled to the end. That right there epitomizes this team, in that everyone's willing to do something big and are not afraid of being the superstar, and that's what he did. He ran that guy down, and when you saw him chasing him, you knew what he was going to do, because that's what he does. He's a winner, and he's going to make winning plays. He gave his team a chance to be successful, and that's what he's all about."

After the promising offensive start, neither team was able to score before they headed to the locker room at halftime with the Whirlwinds trailing 7-6.

It didn't take too long before Catholic struck paydirt in the third quarter. Facing third down and 11, Zachary Printer found Hugen wide open over the middle, and the kicker/receiver outran the defense for a 73-yard touchdown. Hugen put the PAT between the uprights to give the Rockets a 14-6 lead.

But late in the fourth quarter, as RJHS players were cramping up all over the field after such a tremendous effort in the steamy heat, Sims led the Whirlwinds on a 5-play, 39-yard scoring drive capped by a 15-yard strike to Kentrel Scott, setting up the fateful 2-point conversion attempt.

"Like I told the kids, it came down to the fundamentals," Edgin said. "That was the difference in the game. Their effort was there. Their heart was there. Everything was there except the basic fundamentals. We just have to get better. Everybody needs to get better. We just have to find a way to coach them so that they'll understand. They're on the right path though. They care enough, it bothers them enough. They're at the right place. They're going to be back on the right track next week."